A TRIBUTE TO WILL DOWNS

When we began this project, we were immediately confronted with the challenge of obtaining and translating the Chinese literature on Shinisaurus. Following a brief explanation of our problem during a conversation with Will, Bell received a prompt response that Will was willing to assist. He quickly provided a translation of the osteology section of Zhang (1991), but then refused to accept the payment previously agreed upon for his translation services. Instead, he said that it “seemed like an interesting animal” and it was payment enough to be able to learn a little more about it. Over the next several months Will translated the entire section on S. crocodilurus from Zhao et al. (1999), and provided translations of Hu et al. (1984) and Wu and Huang (1986) for this project. Two of these translations were posted, along with others prepared by Will, on the Polyglot Paleontologist web site. His translations also were utilized in at least two other anatomical studies on S. crocodilurus (Conrad 2004), and are available now for the paleontological and zoological researchers interested in this most unusual species. Among paleontologists, Will’s linguistic abilities are perhaps best known and appreciated through his translations of papers on Asian fossil mammals and stratigraphy. We are pleased to acknowledge his contribution to the herpetology community! Will, like so many of us, was a student of Life, and his enthusiastic willingness to apply his skills for the benefit of his colleagues and friends was widely appreciated.